The 10-20-30 HIIT Workout: Fun and Fast

01 Feb The 10-20-30 HIIT Workout: Fun and Fast

Martin Gibala refers to his Eight Basic Workouts as ‘fun and fast’. They are only suggestions and intended to be adapted by you, to suit you. Perfect for aerobic workouts and resistance training too.

Pointing out once again that the benefits of these workouts have been scientifically proven—protocols used on everyone from cardiac rehab patients to high-caliber athletes.

In 2012, some of Gibala’s former colleagues at the University of Copenhagen pusblished a study that examined how interval training would affect fit, trained runners. The 10-20-30 triggered some remarkable benefits even in fit study subjects.

Evidence for the 10-20-30

Group A: Endurance Runners who continued regular training as normal. Nothing changed

Group B: The Sprint Group who did the 10-20-30 Workout increased V02 max by 4%; improved their 1,500-meter run by 21 seconds (6%) and 5-K run by 48 seconds (4%); decreased systolic blood pressure; and, cut their counts for low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (the bad type). Remember these were already-trained athletes doing half the exercise that they had before.

The 10-20-30 Workout A favourite of Gretchen Reynolds, NY Times, Phys Ed Columnist. Works with just about any aerobic exercise from cycling and running to repeating burpees and stair climbing. Personally I like hopping on an exercise bike.

The Workout (30 minutes)

Warm up for 3 minutes

Go for 30 seconds at intensity 4

Go for 20 seconds at intensity 6

Go for 10 seconds at intensity 9

Repeat the cycle 4 additional times, so that you do intervals for a total of 5 minutes

Rest with a light activity for 2 minutes

Repeat with 3 more 10-20-30 sprint blocks

Cool down for 2 minutes

Intensity Scale: See below

Who Should Do this Workout? Anybody who wants to boost their cardiorespiratory fitness and save time.

If you are interested in learning more about Gibala’s suggested Interval Workouts check out his book ‘The One-Minute Workout’. Lots of useful, enjoyable, and fun exercise ideas.